The Bay State Monthly, Vol. II, No. 6, March, 1885 by Various

V >> Various >> The Bay State Monthly, Vol. II, No. 6, March, 1885

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BOYS AND GIRLS' ANNUAL FOR 1885. Edited by William Blair Perkins.
Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price, $2.50. This collection of instructive,
and interesting stories, sketches, poems, biographies and papers in
natural history constitutes in itself an entire library. The entire make
up is of the most perfect character, and it is evident that no pains or
expense has been spared to make this volume every way worthy of the
enterprising publisher whose name it bears, and the host of merry, happy
children, who are destined to delight in its pages. It is a fitting
prelude to the holiday season, and sets a high mark for other publishers
to follow. It is one of the books that we delight to heartily commend,
for its intrinsic value is equal to its exquisite beauty. It is just the
book to head the children's Christmas list.

AESOP'S FABLES. Illustrated. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price, $1.00. These
stories, though they were told more than two thousand years ago, and
have been printed in hundreds of different editions, still retain their
pristine charm, and the children of to-day read them with the same
pleasure that they did centuries ago. The present is a cheap,
well-printed edition, profusely illustrated, and the juveniles will find
its contents just as enjoyable as if they were enclosed in the costliest
covers.

LITTLE FOLKS IN PICTURE AND STORY. Illustrated. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co.
Price, $1.00. If the little people of the household do not fall in love
with this charming collection of stories and pictures they must be very
hard to suit. It would be hard to imagine a more attractive feast than
the publishers have here spread for them, or one so thoroughly adapted
to their tastes. There are stories about cats, stories about dogs,
stories about pigs, and stories about almost everything that can be
thought of to amuse very little readers, and the pictures are every bit
as charming as the stories.

CHAUTAUQUA YOUNG FOLKS' ANNUAL. The "Chautauqua idea"--which is to place
educational advantages within easy reach of the multitudes so far as the
young are concerned--is happily realized in the annual publications
bearing the above title.

A variety of subjects, knowledge of which is of vital importance to the
future success of the young, have been treated by famous writers
especially selected for the work, and treated in such a manner as to
educate, while affording delightful entertainment. To illustrate in the
present volume for 1884, the third of the series, there are delightful
lessons in Natural History, and on the care of Flowers and Plants, and
instructive facts as to Food and Drink; faithful and suggestive sketches
of Noted Men, showing how honorable success has been won in business,
literature, science, art, and public life; chapters in History, and a
score and more of fascinating stories and sketches relating to a great
variety of important subjects.

If it were not for the suggestion of heaviness attached to the name, we
might call these volumes table cyclopedia, which in truth they are, full
of the most valuable information, but as equally full of fascination and
interest for all readers.

Owners of No. 3 of this Chautauqua series will not rest satisfied until
they possess Nos. 1 and 2. No. 1 contains the famous "Stories of
Liberty," in which some of the brightest American writers recount the
efforts by which freedom has been won. In No. 2 can be found the
valuable papers by Dr. D.A. Sargent (of Harvard University) nowhere else
published. Every boy in the land should have copy, and set up his own
gymnasium. Papers on the use of the Microscope, on methods in
Housekeeping, and lessons in the Useful Arts also appear in these
volumes.

It will be seen that the material in these annuals is of the best, which
could not fail to be the case when prepared by such writers as Arthur
Gilman, Sarah K. Bolton, Dr. D.A. Sargent, Benjamin Vaughan Abbott,
Margaret J. Preston, Amanda B. Harris, Dr. Felix L. Oswald, Ernest
Ingersoll, and others of equal repute. The present volume contains seven
series of articles, with numerous choice illustrations. Published in
quarto size, handsome cloth binding, and sent to any address for $1.50.

YOUNG FOLKS' STORIES OF FOREIGN LANDS. Edited by Pansy. Illustrated.
Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price, $1.00. Little folks who have never been
abroad will find ample compensation for their loss if they can only turn
over the pages of this beautifully illustrated book of stories of
travel. There is hardly a country but is represented either by picture
or poem or story, and the contents will be a source of perpetual
pleasure for young readers.

YOUNG FOLKS' STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND HOME LIFE. Edited by
"Pansy." Illustrated. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price, $1.00. The two
writers who have done the most to make this charming book of stories
what it is, are Mrs. Alden and Margaret Sidney, and what more need be
said in its praise? The title describes the scope and character of the
stories, but it gives no idea of the attractive manner in which they are
written or illustrated. When a visit is made by the boys and girls to
the bookstores, we advise a careful examination of the volume.

ON THE WAY TO WONDERLAND. Illustrated. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price,
$1.25. The bright colors of this unique book, and the sound of its
rhymes chanted by mamma, will captivate the eye and ear of the babies,
whose own book it is. It contains the stories in rhyme of Wee Willie
Winkie, Little Bo-Peep, Goody Two Shoes, The Beggar King, Jack and Jill,
and Banbury Cross, all gorgeously illustrated.

THE STORY OF THE MANUSCRIPTS. In this interesting and scholarly volume
Rev. George E. Merrill, D.D., gives the whole story of the preparation
and preservation of the various Scriptural books, a record which will be
read with interest not only by Biblical scholars, but by many others to
whom the main facts are unknown. The manuscripts were originally written
on papyrus, numerous copies being made in the early centuries, but in
the various persecutions of the Christians a great number of the
manuscripts were wantonly destroyed. In the reign of Diocletian, in the
fourth century, there were nine years of persecution, and few of the
original copies were left intact. Great value attaches to even such
manuscript transcripts as were made after the originals, and they are
carefully preserved in various libraries all over Europe. Some of these
are upon vellum, showing their great age. The closing chapter of the
book is devoted to a summing up of the opinions of the great critics on
the history and credibility of the New Testament manuscripts.

As a record of facts bearing upon the history, authenticity and
interpretation of the New Testament Scriptures, this work is invaluable,
and no theological library is complete without it. Information upon the
subjects treated equally comprehensive can be found in no other form so
easily accessible and at so little cost. 12mo. $1.00.

WIDE AWAKE PLEASURE BOOK, Q. Illustrated. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price
$1.50. Another volume in the charming set of books for girls and boys,
and we might almost say for men and women, for grown people take as much
delight in their pages as the younger ones. It is no disparagement to
the former issues to say that the present one surpasses them, for
progress is the rule of its publishers, and the endeavor to do things
better grows more and more decided every year. The Pleasure Book for
1884 contains stories by a score of the most popular writers of the day,
sketches of life and character, bits of biography and history,
narratives of travel, poems, charades, music, puzzles, etc. Its pages
are enriched with hundreds of illustrations, drawn and engraved
expressly for its pages, making text and engravings together, one of the
choicest juvenile annuals issued by any publishing firm in the country.

A FAMILY FLIGHT AROUND HOME. By Rev. E.E. Hale and Susan Hale.
Illustrated. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price, $2.50. To those who have
already made acquaintance with the former books of this series no word
of praise of the present volume is necessary. It is animated by the same
spirit, and prepared according to the same plan, and characterized by
the same bright, sharp way of putting things. Although it is not
dependent upon either of its predecessors, its characters are the same,
and the reader has few new acquaintances to make. Of course the Horners
are the central figures. The scene opens in Boston, or rather in East
Boston, at the wharves of the Cunard Steamship Company, where Mr. Horner
and Tom meet Hubert Vaughan, who, the reader will remember, was left
behind in Europe at the close of the preceding volume. On his arrival
they proceeded to the Hotel Vendome, where Miss Lejeune is awaiting
them, and the next day the party start for Mr. Horner's old home in
Northern Vermont. Here, and in the country surrounding, the larger part
of the summer is spent, the young people making excursions in all
directions, taking in Lake Champlain, with all its historical and
romantic surroundings: the Adirondack region, Lake George, and Schroon
Lake, besides enjoying themselves nearer home in fishing and camping
out. Into the story of their experience and adventures the authors weave
a great deal of interesting local history, and in such a manner as to
make a strong impression upon the mind of young readers. The volume is
brought out in the same elegant form as its predecessors, with the same
clear handsome pages and same wealth of illustration. The well-known
reputation of the authors, the racy and unconventional style of the
narrative and the superb manner in which the publishers have performed
their part of the work, places the volume in the very front rank of the
choice illustrated books of the season.

ODE: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY. By William Wordsworth. Illustrated.
Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price $2.00. This beautiful volume challenges
comparison with any of the medium priced presentation books of the year.
The poem itself Is one of the most perfect in the language, while the
full page illustrations which accompany it represent the most exquisite
work of such artists as F.C. Hassam, Lungren, Miss L.B. Humphrey, W.L.
Taylor, W. John Harper and Smedley. Nothing has been left undone to make
a perfect book. The paper is of the finest, the print beautifully clear,
and the broad margin and elegant binding make it altogether a volume
winch will attract the eye, and satisfy the artistic taste of the
book-buying public.

MONEY IN POLITICS. By J.K. Upton, with an Introduction by Edward
Atkinson, Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. $1.25. Mr. Upton, as many readers
know, was for some years assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and, as a
consequence, has a thorough understanding of the subject upon which he
writes. His book is a complete history of American coinage and money
issues, the management of national monetary affairs, and the different
legal tender acts that have been discussed or passed by Congress. Mr.
Atkinson, in his introduction, says of the book that it gives, in his
judgment, the best record of legislation in the United States yet
presented in regard to coinage, to legal tender acts, and other matters
connected with our financial history. It shows in the most conclusive
manner the futility of all attempts to cause two substances to become,
and to remain of the same value or estimation, by acts of legislation.
It gives a true picture of the vast injury to the welfare and to the
moral integrity of the people of this country, which ensued from the
enactment of the acts of legal tender during the late war, whereby the
promise of a dollar was made equal in the discharge of a contract to the
dollar itself. It shows that the mode of collecting a forced loan was
the must costly and injurious method of taxation which could have been
devised. It proves in the most conclusive way, the injury which will
surely come when by present acts of coinage and of legal tender, our
gold coin has been driven from the country, and our standard of value
becomes a silver dollar of light weight and of uncertain value.

This book, Mr. Atkinson asserts, will prove to the mind of every
thinking man that, if we persist much longer in sustaining the acts of
coinage and legal tender which now encumber the statute book, our
national credit will be impaired and all our working people, whose wages
are paid in money, will be subjected to the most injurious form of
special taxation which could be devised; it proves that a considerable
portion of their wages will be taken from them under due process of law
without power of redress on their part, while the rich and astute
advocates of the present system will reap wealth which they nave not
earned by taking from the laborer apart of that which is his rightful
due. It is therefore of inestimable importance as giving the general
reader a clear understanding of the real condition of things, and
educating him into the right method of thinking about these matters,
which sooner or later, will have to be settled by the voice of the
people.

THE COUNTESS OF ALBANY. By Vernon Lee. Famous Women Series, Boston:
Roberts Brothers. Price $1.00. In this volume we have a biography of a
once famous, now almost forgotten, person. The Countess of Albany gained
her prominence in the political and social world of the latter half of
the eighteenth century, not by any greatness of character or of
achievement, but solely by favor of Fortune; for it does appear as a
compensation for the misery of her domestic life that she was accorded a
position in the world gratifying to her nature to hold. Fate certainly
owed the woman destined to live for a few years only, but those years
long ones, the wife of that Stuart known as the Pretender, many years in
which she could be mistress of herself and the recipient of kindly
consideration, if not some measure of posthumous fame. The book gives us
pictures not only of the countess, but of many persons of more or less
renown with whom she was associated. We are introduced to a somewhat
distinguished company of civil and ecclesiastical officials, persons of
literary and artistic tastes--men and women yet of historic note. The
pictures are sketched with great power and painted in solid. The
subjects are mostly such as would have delighted a Flemish artist to
paint, and they have received true Flemish treatment. The author
displays not a little of Carlyle's power of characterization.

PLUCKY BOYS. By the author of "John Halifax, Gentleman," and other
authors. Illustrated. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price $1.50. If there is
any book of the season that we can heartily commend to boys of the
stirring wide awake kind, it is this. The eighteen stories of which it
consists, are by well-known writers, all lovers of boys and admirers of
pluck, truthfulness, and manliness in them. The various young heroes
described represent in their characters some particular quality which
entitles them to be classed under the title which the compiler has given
the book. Mrs. Craik's story is called "Facing the World;" Sophie May
tells about "Joe and his Business Experiences;" George Gary Eggleston
contributes a sketch called "Lambert's Ferry;" Kate Upson Clark has a
story called "Granny," and there are others by authors of such
reputation as Amanda B. Harris, Sarah Orne Jewett, Mary Wager Fisher,
Hope Ledyard, Susan Power, Edith Robinson, and Tarpley Starr. The volume
is bound in holiday style, and will make a capital gift book for that
class of young readers for whom it was specially prepared.

* * * * *

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Of Marion Harland's latest book, "Cookery for Beginners," the _London
Saturday Review_ says: "Mrs. Harland's little book shows its origin by
the singular predominance of sweets (which is, speaking roughly, about
three to one), and by such odd phrases--odd, that is to say, to an
English ear--as that the chief merit of a cook is 'the ability to make
good bread.' Alas! if that be so, how many inhabitants of London,
England, possess a good cook? But Mrs. Harland is free from even a rag
of national prejudice. She sternly, and with almost frightful boldness,
denies the sacred PIE so much as a place in her book, and she ventures
on the following utterance, which we purposely place in italics, and for
which we hope that the eagle, whose home is in the settin' sun, has not
already torn out her eyes. '_The best way_,' says this daring inhabitant
of Boston, Mass., '_to manage a boiled egg at the table_ [she speaks of
it, it will be observed, as if it were a kind of wild beast] _is the
English way of setting it upright in the small end of the eggcup_ [Great
powers! most Britons will cry, what is the large end of an eggcup?],
_making a hole in the top_ [note the precision of these indications]
_large enough to admit the eggspoon, and eating it from the top,
seasoning it as you go._' The courage and genius of Mrs. Harland are not
more clearly indicated by this sentence than the deplorable habits of
her countrymen. She ought to be called, not Marion, but Columba. To
desist from folly, however, her little book is a very interesting and
valuable one. Its receipts, though few, are given with singular
clearness and in the most practical of manners, and the mechanical value
of the book is much increased by the inclusion of a large number of
blank pages for additional receipts."

* * * * *

"The fine grade of religious books published by D. Lothrop & Co.,
Boston, justifies more than a passing notice. This firm turns out yearly
an immense number of books of the choicest quality, and at all prices to
suit the needs of Sunday-schools throughout the land. It has been the
aim of the publishers to employ none but the best writers for these
books, realizing it a most important part of Church work to provide for
the needs of this large class. Mingling intellectual strength with deep
religious feeling, at the same time the publishers strive to make the
books interesting and attractive. For an untold number of examples prove
that children and youth will _not_ read religious or moral teaching
presented in a dry manner, and why should they? Full of life and vigor,
and overflowing with intense energy in every part of their nature, these
young people _require_ something healthfully to inspire to this force
within them. If they do not find it in the natural avenues of the
Sunday-school or the town library, they will elsewhere, in questionable
literature--an indulgence in which results in a feverish taste for
excitement. To help these young people develop into strong men and
women, D. Lothrop & Co. have put forth every effort, sparing no expense.
A glance at their _Catalogue_ will give an idea of what they have been
doing in this department."--_The Messenger, Phila._

* * * * *

Of Amanda B. Harris' last work, the _Advance_ says: "_Pleasant Authors
for Young Folks_ is a delightful little book. The name of its author is
sufficient to attract many readers who have been pleased with her 'Wild
Flowers' and other books and sketches. These 'Little Biographies' of
Walter Scott, Charles Lamb, Charles Kingsley, Dr. John Brown, George
MacDonald, Dinah Mulock-Craik, John Ruskin, Charlotte Bronte and others,
are made up of stories and incidents from the lives of these writers,
bits of criticism and gems of extracts, put together as deftly and
skilfully and making as fine and polished a whole as a Roman mosaic of
the temple of Vesta. Such a delicious bit of a book as this in the hands
of a boy or girl is worth more as an incitement to reading and an
education of literary taste than many a library of a thousand volumes."

* * * * *

"Every day we see that there is an absolute necessity for giving good
books to our children. We cannot begin too early to cultivate a taste
for healthful literature. The recent developments in several cities must
call the attention of all careless parents to this fact. The influence
of bad books upon children is so apparent as to be startling, and the
boy who went armed to school last week in Pittsburg and gave his name to
his teacher as 'Schuykill Jack,' is only one of a large number of
weak-headed boys who have been depraved by reading these stories which
they ought never to have seen. Do not consider it lost or wasted time
during which you read to your boy; perhaps no other hours in your life
are so wisely used, and it will not be without its fruit, you may be
perfectly sure. Do not always read down to your children: they
appreciate higher and deeper thoughts than you sometimes think they
do."--_New York Evening Post._

* * * * *

A "School of Library Economy" has just been established in Columbia
College, to be opened in October, 1886. The object includes "all the
special training needed to select, buy, arrange, catalogue, index, and
administer in the best and most economical way any collection of books,
pamphlets, or serials." The instruction is to be given by "lectures,
reading, the Seminar, visiting libraries, problems, and work." We shall
watch with interest this new species of technical school.

* * * * *

LAW IN EASY LESSONS.

"It is manifest that such a manual as Every Man His Own Lawyer would be
a snare to the unwary, because it does not content itself with teaching
the reader what to avoid, but professes to guide him in the labyrinthian
paths of substantive law and technical procedure. It is equally clear,
however, that a rudimentary acquaintance with the main principles of
jurisprudence is indispensable to those who purpose to mingle in active
life at all, and discharge the most familiar duties of the citizen. But
law books are not inviting to the general reader--we may imagine,
indeed, that Blackstone has rather lost than gained in the esteem of his
professional brethren by the attempt to make his commentaries an
exception to the rule--and the volumes may be counted on the fingers
which are at once entertaining and trustworthy compends of legal lore.
To the meagre collection of attractive introductions to this subject an
addition has recently been made by BENJAMIN VAUGHAN ABBOTT in a couple
of brochures, respectively called _The Travelling Law School and Famous
Trials_, which are published in one volume by D. Lothrop & Co. The book
is ostensibly written for boys, but it may be heartily commended to
adult readers of both sexes. It is surprising how much sound law the
author manages to insinuate in the guise of interesting incidents and
pleasing anecdotes. Even they who are sickened by the scent of sheepskin
and law calf, and who would as soon think of entering on a course of
Calvinistic theology as on a study of jurisprudence, will imbibe through
the author's cheerful narrative a good many useful notions of their
legal rights and duties, just as children are persuaded to swallow an
aperient in the shape of prunes or figs.

"In 'The Travelling Law School,' as the name implies, the reader is
invited to accompany a party of young students in a tour through several
of the Atlantic States, the incidents of the journey suggesting succinct
accounts of the main features of Federal, State, and municipal law. A
much larger sum of information can be thus informally conveyed in about
a hundred pages than would at first sight be deemed possible; and
notwithstanding the suspicion with which lawyers are apt to regard the
transmission of knowledge through such a pleasant medium, we are able to
vouch in this instance for its accuracy. We have been particularly
struck by the light which the author manages to throw, in a quick,
unaffected way, on the characteristic features of the American
Constitution. This he does by illustrations drawn from the organic laws
of other countries possessing parliamentary institutions, and his
references, on the whole, are singularly exact, though he might perhaps
have laid more stress on the centralizing tendencies which survive in
the executive branch of the French republican Government.

"The plan followed in 'Famous Trials' is to take a given topic, like
forgery, confessions, mistaken identity or circumstantial evidence and
to illustrate the points best worth remembering by some actual and
interesting case in which they were strikingly brought out.

"The instance of mistaken identity described by Mr. Abbott at some
length is really much more curious than the Tichborne case, though the
affair, having taken place many years ago in France, has been almost
totally forgotten. The true husband's name was Martin Guerre, a man of
fair social position and some property, who, after living happily with
his wife Bertrande for about a dozen years, disappeared suddenly, and
nothing was heard of him for eight years. At the end of that time the
same Martin Guerre, as all the town people supposed, came back,
recognizing his old neighbors and friends, and looking just as he used,
except that he had grown stouter and sunburned. His wife also recognized
him as readily as did his neighbors, and gave him an affectionate
welcome. To innumerable questions about occurrences in old times, he
returned satisfactory and explicit answers. To his wife, in particular,
he rehearsed incidents of past years that had completely faded from her
memory. When they awoke, for instance, on the morning after his arrival,
he asked her to 'Bring me my white breeches trimmed with white silk; you
will find them at the bottom of the large beech chest under the linen.'
She had long forgotten the breeches and even the box, but she found them
just as he had described. In the face of such evidence it seemed
impossible to doubt that this man was the genuine Martin Guerre. Yet he
proved after all to be an impostor, whose real name was Arnauld Du Tilh.
Yet strange as it may seem, on the impostor's trial, although confronted
with the man whom he was personating, he was able to answer questions
about the past life of the Guerre family more minutely and accurately
than the rightful claimant. Being disavowed, however, by the great
majority of witnesses, including the wife, on the appearance of her true
husband, he was sentenced to death for his fraud. Before his execution
he made a confession, saying that some intimate friends of Martin
Guerre, misled by the astonishing resemblance, had accosted him by that
name, which gave him the idea of claiming Guerre's position and
property; and that he had gained his intimate knowledge of Guerre's life
partly from Guerre himself, whom he had known slightly in the army, and
partly from several common acquaintances. With this slender outfit of
material he came within an ace of effecting his design, thanks to an
exceptionally tenacious and ready memory."--_Extract from notice in "New
York Daily Sun," of "The Travelling Law School._" D. Lothrop & Co.
$1.00.

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